Big Earth Data for Sustainable Development

In 2015, 193 member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which, 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets, and more than 230 indicators were proposed to guide the economic, social, and environmental aspects of development. However, several factors have constrained the implementation of the SDGs, including lack of data, technical obstacles, and shortage of funds. With the development of science and technology, the global data volume is growing exponentially. Advances in computing and data technologies have made real-time processing and analysis of big data a reality, while new types of data combined with traditional data, such as statistical and survey data, can create more detailed, timely, high-quality information. Big Earth Data technology, through its extensive use and further innovation, can be an effective way to address the data divide and the lack of information and tools for sustainable development. The Big Earth Data Science Engineering Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out research on improving the monitoring and evaluation of SDGs and achieved a series of goals. To this end, the International Research Center of Big Data for Sustainable Development Goals (CBAS) was established to strengthen national and international efforts through improved scientific support driven by innovative big data solutions for SDGs.